Johnston Marklee’s Vault House frames beach views through multiple arches

A sequence of vaulted ceilings and arched openings sets up layered vistas through the interior of this beach house in Southern California by Los Angeles firm Johnston Marklee (+ slideshow).

Vault House by Johnston Marklee

Johnston Marklee planned Vault House as a twist on the boxy “shotgun houses” that were typical in southern USA until the 1920s. Although the building has a simple rectilinear form, its volume is punctured on all sides by arched windows and recesses.

Johnston Marklee's Vault House frames beach views through multiple arches

The same motif is repeated throughout the interior, creating a series of vaulted doorways, rooms and corridors that conclude with a large framed view of the beach and ocean.

Johnston Marklee's Vault House frames beach views through multiple arches

“With the assembly of stacked and unidirectional vaulted rooms contained within a simple rectilinear volume, the parallel orientation of the rooms acts as a filter that extends the oceanfront view,” said the studio.

Johnston Marklee's Vault House frames beach views through multiple arches

Local planning regulation stipulated that the house needed to be raised two metres above the sand and be collapsible in the event of a tsunami. This allowed the architects to create a split-level two-storey home with a car parking garage slotted underneath at the back.

Johnston Marklee's Vault House frames beach views through multiple arches

An arched entrance leads into the house via a central courtyard that helps light to penetrate the interior, but also creates a natural division between the living spaces at the front and bedrooms at the back.

Johnston Marklee's Vault House frames beach views through multiple arches

Vaulted forms overlap one another throughout these spaces, helping to outline different spaces and frame a number of artworks belonging to the owners.

Johnston Marklee's Vault House frames beach views through multiple arches

“With varied contours and volumes, each vaulted room defines an area or a function in the house. The combined effect is a varied landscape of interior spaces, unified with a singular formal language,” added the architects.

Johnston Marklee's Vault House frames beach views through multiple arches

Outer walls are coated with a cement membrane to protect them from the elements, while floors are finished in limestone. A single staircase connects each level and also leads up to a terrace on the roof.

All photography is copyright Eric Staudenmaier and used with permission.

Here’s the text description from Johnston Marklee:


Vault House
Oxnard, California

Situated in a densely developed beach site in Southern California, the Vault House challenges the typology commonly found on narrow oceanfront lots. Instead of directing its focus on the single prime ocean view, an array of transparent interior spaces layered inside the main volume, offer a multiplicity of oblique views through the house while capturing natural light from a variety of angles.

Site plan of Johnston Marklee's Vault House frames beach views through multiple arches
Site plan – click for larger image

With the assembly of stacked and unidirectional vaulted rooms contained within a simple rectilinear volume, the parallel orientation of the rooms acts as a filter that extends the oceanfront view from the beachfront facade to the west through to the street at the Eastern boundary of the site.

Floor plans of Johnston Marklee's Vault House frames beach views through multiple arches
Floor plans – click for larger image

The house was designed under the restrictions imposed by the California Coastal Commission, which require the main living area to be lifted two meters off the sand, allowing for possible tsunami waves to pass beneath the house.

Sections of Johnston Marklee's Vault House frames beach views through multiple arches
Sections – click for larger image

The garage to the East along the street, in contrast, sits directly on the sand and is designed with walls that collapse under the pressure of tsunami waves. This results in an asymmetrical section, where three floor levels – first floor, split level, second floor – are grouped around a courtyard that serves both as the main entrance to the house and as a central outdoor room.

The courtyard forms the core of the house: it negotiates between the more private rooms on the eastern side of the house and the open and connected areas to the west. In the courtyard, natural light enters in rotating cycles throughout the day and residents can be observed moving throughout the house from this central space.

3D diagram showing the house design of Johnston Marklee's Vault House frames beach views through multiple arches
3D diagram – click for larger images

A single-run stair located along the northern side of the house connects all three levels and leads to a roof deck that offers panoramic views of the beach and the ocean.

With varied contours and volumes, each vaulted room defines an area or a function in the house. The combined effect is a varied landscape of interior spaces, unified with a singular formal language. Similar to the paradigm of a shotgun house, the singular direction of the vaults maximises the visual connection of all spaces within the deep building footprint and incorporates the exquisite exterior landscape of beach, ocean and horizon into the depth of the building.

Sections of Johnston Marklee's Vault House frames beach views through multiple arches
Cross section diagrams – click for larger image

The extreme beach climate with pervasive winds and salty air demanded a simplified, weather resistant material palette. Limestone is used for all floors and as wainscots, both inside and outside, while an elastomeric, cementitious membrane called “Grailcoat” wraps the exterior facade. The membrane eliminates the need for metal flashing and control joints, rendering the facade scaleless and forming an abstract backdrop for the play of light and shadow.

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beach views through multiple arches
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Johnston Marklee designs rotunda residence for series of Spanish holiday homes

American firm Johnston Marklee has designed a circular house with a paddling pool on the roof as part of a series of inventive holiday homes proposed by architects including Sou Fujimoto and Didier Faustino for a national park in Spain (+ slideshow).

Johnston Marklee‘s Round House is number four in the series of Solo Houses, an initiative funded by French developer Christian Bourdais that gives 12 architects free rein to develop any design within a set budget.

Johnston Marklee Solo House

Rising above an almond grove, the house will accommodate living spaces and bedrooms on a elevated circular floor. Bedrooms will be positioned around the curved edges of the building, while sliding glass screens will allow rooms to open out to one another.

A spiral staircase at the centre of the house will lead residents up to the rooftop deck, offering panoramic views across the rural landscape.

Round House by Johnston Marklee for Solo Houses

Architects Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee compare the building to a string of famous villas with rotundas, including Andrea Palladio’s Villa Rotunda and Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion House.

“[It] captures the continuous horizon line of the surrounding landscape while accentuating the different spatial characteristics of the site’s orientations,” they said.

Round House by Johnston Marklee for Solo Houses

Both the base and roof terrace will feature a small square plan, contrasting with the curved outline of the main building’s floor.

Round House by Johnston Marklee for Solo Houses

Round House is one of 12 houses set to be built as part of the Solo Houses series. The symmetrical concrete Casa Pezo by Chilean studio Pezo Von Ellrichshausen is the only project completed so far, but will be followed by Didier Faustino’s Big Bang-inspired structure and Sou Fujimoto’s Geometric Forest.

Here’s a project description from Johnston Marklee:


Solo Houses unveils the Round House of Johnston Marklee

Situated on the outskirts of Cretas, Spain the Round House follows the grand tradition of country villas sited within an idyllic landscape. Approached along the edge of a dense forest and the Parc Natural dels Ports beyond, the Round House emerges as a singular object amongst a grove of almond trees.

Round House by Johnston Marklee for Solo Houses
Section A

The house consists of a single floor elevated above the almond grove to capture a panoramic view of the surroundings. The circular floor plan is supposed by a smaller base with a square plan, creating a sense of detachment from the landscape whilst remaining grounded by its inherent weight and mass. Protruding from the base is the main entrance. Upon entry the visitor ascends a flight of stairs and arrives within the centre of the house.

Round House by Johnston Marklee for Solo Houses
Section B

The primary axis of the bilaterally symmetrical plan runs along the length of the entry stairway, and is shaped by two curving walls that connect the living and dining areas of the open plan. These walls create a compressed spatial sensation while directing the visitor outward towards the panoramic view at the perimeter. Hovering above the almond trees, the space of the open plan extends into the landscape.

Round House by Johnston Marklee for Solo Houses
Section C

Behind the curving walls are four bedrooms with bathrooms and storage. The sliding doors of the bedrooms can open to connect to the living space and form a complete open plan when desired. A spiral staircase allows visitors to access the roof deck which has a square plan identical to the base of the house. Centred with a pool, the roof deck obtains an unbroken 360 degree view of the Aragonais backcountry.

Round House by Johnston Marklee for Solo Houses
Section D

Following the lineage of Andrea Palladio’s Villa Rotunda, Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion House, and John Lautner’s Chemosphere House; Johnston Marklee’s Round House captures the continuous horizon line of the surrounding landscape while accentuating the different spatial characteristics of the site’s orientations.

The post Johnston Marklee designs rotunda residence
for series of Spanish holiday homes
appeared first on Dezeen.